The first green shoots we see in our window boxes are little clumps of bright green chives (Allium schoenoprasum). They are already up before spring is officially here and they fill us with hope for the great growing season ahead. By mid-May their lavender star-shaped flowers will blossom like mad. We get so much pleasure just looking at them that we haven't had the heart to cut even one slender leaf yet. When we do snip we leave about 2 inches at the base and cut just a few from each clump. That way they will keep growing and still look full and pretty. A friend and former cooking colleague used to ask kitchen applicants to chop a bunch of chives in order to gauge their culinary sensibility and knife skills—the finest chop got the job. That set the standard for us and ever since, we hope we pass her rigorous test whenever we chop chives. We use them all the time, scattered as a garnish for their pretty green looks as well as their bright mild onion flavor.

We’re partial to scallions (Allium fistulosum) as well, also called green onions and a number of other names, in the Canal House kitchen. We grow them in our gardens but often rely on the grocery store to supplement our harvests. We prefer long slender shoots with whole tapering leaves. Sturdy scallions can be used raw or cooked and have a mild onion flavor. After trimming off the root ends and pulling off any damaged or wilted leaves, we rinse scallions well and shake the water off. Then we chop them finely or coarsely, depending on how we'll use them. We add them raw to our Brothy Beef Short Ribs (Vol. N° 6, The Grocery Store, page 34) or cooked in recipes like Favas & Peas Salad (Vol. N° 6, The Grocery Store, page 61).